Bell with heads of a ram, a jackal, and a bovine wearing a yoke ending in uraei
Bells began to appear in Egypt about the 8th century BC. This elaborate bell is decorated with heads of animals: a bovine wearing a yoke ending in uraei, a ram, a jackal, and a snake. The clapper is missing. Similarly shaped bells with heads of mythological animals were found in the cemetery at Naukratis, where they must have had some kind of amuletic function for the deceased.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bell with heads of a ram, a jackal, and a bovine wearing a yoke ending in uraei
- Period: Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 332–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Leaded bronze
- Dimensions: H. 4.4 × W. 4.3 × D. 4 cm (1 3/4 × 1 11/16 × 1 9/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Gift of Lily S. Place, 1923
- Object Number: 23.6.34
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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ca. 664–525 BCE
332–30 BCE
ca. 712–664 B.C.
246–222 B.C.
4th–2nd century B.C.
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